The Creamy Ingredient You Should Be Adding To Guacamole For A Protein Boost

Guacamole is one of the most beloved dips of all time — and for good reason. On a flavor level, it's the perfect neutral canvas for an array of punchy spices and ingredients, including diced red onion, garlic, cilantro, and freshly cracked pepper. Guacamole is also a nutrient-dense food; it's high in micronutrients like potassium and it packs a healthy dose of fat that will keep you satiated.

But for all guacamole is, there is one thing that it's not: protein-dense. If you're looking to add a boost of the macronutrient to your tacos, or want to spruce up your eggs, you're going to have to give your favorite guacamole recipe a facelift. And lucky for you, we have the perfect ingredient to add to your guacamole to make it extra creamy and increase its protein at the same time: cottage cheese. 

Cottage cheese has a relatively neutral flavor, but it offers a ton of nutritional benefits. For example, 100 grams of full-fat cottage cheese packs a whopping 11 grams of protein, and you can use your newly-enhanced guacamole anywhere that you would use the classic dip. 

You'll want to add the cottage cheese to your dip with the rest of your add-ins — like the onions, garlic, and cilantro. You should be able to use about a cup of cheese for every avocado, though you could always add it in incrementally to ensure you get the texture you want. Give it a good stir to incorporate it with the rest of the ingredients, and serve it with your favorite brand of tortilla chips or on top of your next wrap. One of our personal favorite ways to use guacamole is as a binder for chicken or chickpea salad in lieu of mayonnaise. If you added cottage cheese to the equation, it would make it extra satiating and also amp up the creaminess of your salad. 

You can use both full-fat and low-fat cottage cheese for this dip hack. While the lower fat option won't offer the same mouthfeel as the full-fat one, you will be still getting all of the protein benefits you would if you opted for the richer version. In fact, some low-fat cottage cheeses have up to three grams more protein than their full-fat versions.